I met Josep Cusí at the Real Club Náutico through the sailing regattas of the Trofeo Conde de Godó, which my father, Carlos, started fifty-three years ago, and I can say that I have always been fortunate to have his esteem and his advice. His relationship with Juan…
Alberto Núñez Feijóo returned this Wednesday to Ceuta, for the second time in just over fifteen days, to demand the voluntary return or expulsion of “all” immigrants who have entered illegally following the massive entry that overwhelmed the autonomous city. From the southern border, the leader of the PP raised his tone against the “inaction and irresponsibility” of the Government three weeks after the crisis and, positioning himself as an alternative Government, sent a clear message to Rabat in case Pedro Sánchez is removed from the Presidency: Spain will not act “under blackmail or threat” because “the Spanishness of Ceuta and Melilla is not negotiable.”
The pressure from the Popular Party on the Government does not cease due to the migratory crisis in Ceuta and will use its absolute majority in the Senate to censure, in the first plenary session of September, the ministers Fernando Grande-Marlaska (Interior), José Manuel Albares (Foreign Affairs), Margarita Robles (Defense), Mónica García (Health), and Ana Redondo (Equality).
After twenty days sleeping outdoors, protected by neighborhood associations that have filled the gap left by the administrations, the unaccompanied minor migrants who entered Ceuta during the mass crossing are being housed in emergency centers. This is the first phase of a shock plan that the Ministry of Youth and Childhood, led by Sira Rego, says it is working on, which later includes, in weeks or months, a formula for NGOs to develop care in resources on the Peninsula, without the need to transfer guardianship of the adolescents to the autonomous communities. The figure handled by Childhood, although it may vary during the process, is around five hundred minors. From the Ceuta Government, which was caught by surprise by the announcement, they claim not to be aware of the possible transfer.
The people of Ceuta, who, filling the void left by public administrations, have voluntarily taken charge of welcoming people who crossed irregularly into the autonomous city, have exploded. Days go by, about twenty already, but the authorities still have not provided a decent (and safe) space for thousands of immigrants who continue to be exposed to the elements, despite the Government’s promise to deploy “immediately” four centers with 1,500 beds. “If there is no solution now, the volunteers will not take care of anyone else,” warned Hafida Mustafa yesterday, a resident of the Príncipe neighborhood who has been guarding the sports court for more than a week, which became the refuge for girls and adolescents who arrived alone in the city, in a situation of enormous vulnerability to sexual violence, exploitation, or trafficking. Patience is running out on the streets, with neighbors feeling tired and insecure and immigrants living in inhumane conditions, while the new spaces have yet to be enabled. Nor do they have an opening date.
With the absence of Margarita Robles, the third minister to do so in just one week, the Government has opted for the path of fait accompli in its standoff with the Senate, dominated by the PP. The Executive denies that this is a “snub” following the migration crisis of July 30 in Ceuta — where 72,000 people crossed the border and more than 140 died — and claims that the ministers will attend “later.” The maneuver, however, allows it to freeze explanations in the hostile territory of the PP’s absolute majority until September, when more than a month will have passed since the tragedy.
The Partido Popular multiplied itself yesterday on all fronts to elevate the migration debate in Ceuta to the level of a state crisis. From the coast of Lugo to the border perimeter of the autonomous city, the opposition leadership coordinated its discourse to accuse Pedro Sánchez’s government of violating territorial integrity and to demand a structural shift that returns direct control of its borders to the Spanish institutions, moving the discussion from mere emergency management to a comprehensive questioning of the diplomatic strategy in North Africa.
The European Commission makes it clear that EU law supports the return of all migrants who crossed the fence in Ceuta at the end of July, including unaccompanied minors. This was emphasized by its Interior spokesperson, Markus Lammert, who recalled that EU law does provide for their return and assured that the priority of the European Commission is for the Moroccan authorities to “maintain control of the situation and ensure the rapid return of all persons who remain irregularly” in the autonomous city.
The judge of the National Court Santiago Pedraz has ordered this morning a new dump of the mobile phone of Juanma Serrano, former chief of staff of Pedro Sánchez and former president of Correos. Serrano is under investigation in the so-called Leire case, referring to Leire Díez, known as the plumber of the PSOE, which is being investigated for alleged crimes of fraud, document falsification, embezzlement, influence peddling, and malfeasance.
Alberto Núñez Feijóo has taken advantage of the inauguration of a photographic exhibition dedicated to Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo on the occasion of the centenary of his birth – his first event with the media in two weeks – to accuse the central government of being “absent, inert, and indifferent to the interests, security, integrity, and sovereignty of the Spanish people” following the massive entry of immigrants into Ceuta.
